A Minute Too Late
by Regularamanda
Summary: What if Jack would have been one minute late in 'Desperate Measures?. Total Angst. Warning- Character Death. One shot.


_Author's Note- Alright this is your second warning. There is no fluff in this at all. It's all Angst and again Major Character death. You have been warned!_

**A Minute Too Late**

He was too late.

Colonel Jack O'Neill and Harry Maybourne rushed into the room where Sam was being held, but it was too late. The two scientists had already injected her with a lethal amount of…something.

"Carter!" Jack said rushing to her side.

"Up against the wall!" Maybourne said as he pointed the gun at them.

"Get me the keys" Jack yelled to Harry. He checked the scientist pockets and threw Jack the keys.

Jack uncuffed Sam and lifted her off the gurney.

"You're going to be fine Sam." He said as he set her on the ground.

"No…sir…I'm not." She said tears filling her eyes.

"I don't want to hear that kind of talk from you. We found you, your going to be fine." Jack said hoping he could convince her.

"They gave me…a lethal dose…I…can't…breathe…" Sam said as she sucked in ragged breaths of air.

"Damn it Sam! We'll get you help!" He said.

"I'm…sorry." She said.

"Don't leave." Jack whispered to her.

Sam's hand came up to wrap around the collar of his shirt. "Jack…love…you." She managed out. The light slowly left her beautiful blue eyes and her hand unclenched his shirt. She was gone.

"No…no…" Jack said as he pulled her body against him and cradled her lifeless form.

Jack didn't bother to stop the tears from falling from his eyes. To come this close to bringing her home safely, only to have her ripped away. It was unbearable, unthinkable.

He had failed her. They'd take too much time and she had died. She was gone and he couldn't bring her back. All he had left of her was his memories.

She had taken his heart with him. She was what made everything else matter in his life and without her, it didn't mean a thing. He'd lost so much through the years, he had always hoped that he would never lose her.

He knew they had dangerous jobs but every other time they had beaten the odds. Now there luck had finally run out.

Why couldn't it be him? He thought with anguish. He'd gladly change places with her in a heart beat, gladly take death for her. If that meant she was alright. But here she was just an empty shell.

"Jack, I know what your feeling but we have to catch Adrian Conrad." Maybourne said.

"Yeah…" Jack said dully.

"Jack…what's going on?" Daniel said over the radio.

"She's dead." Jack whispered into it.

"Oh God." Daniel groaned.

"Bring her and let's go Jack."

Jack lovingly picked her up and they left.

*****

They never did catch Adrian Conrad, and for once Jack really didn't care. He had just lost the woman he loved and that was all that was on his mind. Adrian Conrad be damned.

Sam was buried in the cemetery right next to her mother. It was what she had written in his will but Jack hated it.

She was out here buried near this small church, as if she was just anybody. She deserved something better than this. She deserved to be remembered in some way. Jack wanted to shout to the world how important she was. How she risked her life daily and had saved the world countless time.

Jacob came up behind him and put his hand on his shoulder. "You alright?" He asked.

"No." Jack said honestly.

"Yeah…me either." Jacob said choking up.

"I'm sorry Jacob." Jack whispered looking at the ground.

"For what?" He asked.

"I should have gotten to her sooner…If I would have been a minute earlier, she'd be with us right now." Jack said his voice filled with pain. "It was my responsibility to find her and I failed."

"Jack, she wouldn't want you to blame yourself." He told the younger man.

"Doesn't stop me from blaming myself….Jacob…I love her."

"I know." Jacob admitted. "I am her father after all."

"When she was there…before she died…she said she loved me." Jack chocked out.

Jacob smiled sadly at the man.

"She shouldn't have loved me…I let her down. She had completely trust that I would find her and I let her down. I can't handle that." Jack said.

"Jack, let me tell you something. She would want you to go on. If nothing else, go on for her." Jack lifted his eyes from her grave stone and looked at Jacob.

He was right Jack decided. Jack had every intention of resigning but now he knew he couldn't. He would do all that he could, for her.

Jack sent Jacob a small smile and then turned and looked at the setting sun.

Jack promised himself that he would never forget Sam. She would be forever in his heart. The love he felt for her would never fade, it would remain with him for all time. The sun was setting, but the love in his heart for her would never set. It would shine as brightly as the noon sun, and even death couldn't change that.

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_Author's Note- Okay so the angst was really high on this, but I promise in a few days I'll post some nice fluff! Thanks for reading and if you liked it let me know!_


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